“Mom, I thought the idea was to maintain a low profile.” Ranma whispered to his mother as they entered the school grounds of Bayville High.
“This is true,” said the woman next to him.
“Then why are you dressed in a way that will attract a lot of attention?”
“I am dressed no different than I always am.” Nodoka Saotome said. She told the truth, she wore her traditional kimono and wooden getta sandals that sounded a lot like a horse on the pavement. He knew she was walking like that for the exact purpose of attracting everyone’s attention which led to the unusual sight not regularly seen in urban United States. Ranma was only grateful she had left the family katana back at the house.
He knew his mother made herself to be beautiful as a traditional Japanese woman and he couldn’t help overhear some of the comments as they passed by the high school students. Knowing boys and how they can behave when other girls are not in earshot, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mom, what exactly is a ‘milf’?”
Nodoka slipped a little knowing smile, “Never mind, Son. It’s a compliment.” under her breath, she commented, “...after a fashion.” No sense in letting her son get into a fight on his first day of school.
“Oh.” He let the subject drop, not really into the gossip anyway. As they entered the building he saw something he actually wasn’t looking forward to. Walking towards them were two people he easily recognized. The boy was tall, thin, and wearing red sunglasses, the girl was a tall redhead with green eyes. They seemed to recognize him as well as the boy’s jaw dropped a bit and the girl’s walk hesitated for a moment. “I thought they went to Xavier’s school.” he hissed to his mother.
“I’ll explain later.” she whispered back. Just as they were about to pass the pair, she stopped and stepped in front of them, “Excuse me, please. Might I ask you where I could find the main office?” she asked in slightly accented English. “I am about to enroll my son here, you see,” motioning towards Ranma.
“You know where it is, Mystique.” the boy said her name as though it were a curse and never unclenched his teeth as he spoke, his red sunglasses seemed to glow a bit.
“Oh-ho-ho-ho!” Nodoka laughed into her kimono sleeve, “Xavier’s students are always so polite and generous to strangers.”
The red haired girl grabbed the boys arm. “Turn left at the corner second door on your left.” she said hastily and pulled the taller boy away.
Nodoka bowed formally to their retreating backs, “Thank you for your kindness.”
Mother and son continued their walk, “You did that on purpose.” Ranma said.
His mother sighed, “Sometimes a person needs to be reminded of their shortcomings, especially do-gooder types like them. Otherwise they begin to think anything they do is ‘good.’”
“This comin’ from experience?” Ranma asked before he could stop himself.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation as they entered the office. “Excuse me, “she said to the receptionist in barely accented English, “I would like to see about enrolling my son here at this school.”
The receptionist looked at the request form and hesitated when her eyes fell on the address, “Um, I think that Principle Kelly would like to see you.”
“Of course.” Mystique said. “{Let me handle the principle.}” she said to Ranma in Japanese as, “{I don’t expect trouble, but, be ready just in case.}”
“{Why, what’s going on?}” Ranma asked.
“{Blob and the others are considered as hoodlums here and the fact that they live in the same house is well known. They make no presumption of hiding their powers and have caused trouble in the past. Since I was the principle back then, I was able to smooth things over. But now the new principle, Edward Kelly, is a paranoid bigot who is looking for an excuse to kick those boys out of school.}”
“{And I suppose that keepin’ them in line at school is part of my job too?}” Mystique simply turned and smiled enigmatically at her son. “Wonderful.” he groaned. “You know, you could help. Just make yourself look like a schoolgirl and take classes with us. That way you could keep a look out for yourself.}”
“{Thank you, but no. Been there, done that. Oh, don’t worry; I’ll be around to check on you from time to time.}”
“{And how will I know it’s you?}”
She flashed him another smile, “{‘That’s something we’ll have to work on, isn’t it?’}”
“{What? You think I was too hard on them yesterday? I didn’t have ‘em do anything I wasn’t willin’ to do myself.}”
“{Uh-huh.}”
“{And besides, the house did get done.}” The steady gaze from his mother unnerved him, “{...and the basement will dry out, eventually. I mean, the smell can’t last forever.}”
“{I hope not, for your sake.}”
The receptionist came back and allowed them into the principles office.
“Mrs. Saotome.” Principle Kelly ignored her extended hand and bowed awkwardly. “I’m sorry, but we cannot accept your son to our school at this time.”
“Might I ask why? This school is no where near it’s maximum capacity for students.”
“I do not see any reason to go into it with you, Mrs. Saotome. Suffice it to say, your son will not be attending school this year. Good day to you.” he said dismissively.
“I beg to differ, Mr. Kelly. My employer would most anxious to know the reason you’ve decided to deny my son enrollment into this public institution.”
“Your employer?”
“Yes, you see, I work for Department of Child Welfare and I am guessing that it is because the address we have just moved into is the home of several, shall we say, troublemakers, you have seen fit to deny our request. ...for the welfare of the school, of course.”
“Of course. And in what capacity do you reside at that ‘home’, Mrs. Saotome?”
“Since those that live there fall under laws regarding care of foster children, it was decided that they would be better served with a house mother to look over them, rather than split them up into various established foster care residences.”
“So you are their den mother.” he stated, trying to process the information.
“Quite.” she agreed. “A good salary and a place to live is nothing to toss aside lightly, no matter the circumstances.”
“And your son?”
“He is living with me of course. Unofficially, he is my assistant.” She pulled out a folder from her sleeve and placed it on the desk in front of the principle. Inside, the principle found several documents proclaiming Ranma as a black belt from several accredited schools. Also, and more importantly, there was a medical report stating Ranma’s physical health as well as a negative report for the presence of an X-gene.
“I am impressed. Needless to say, I wish you all the luck in the world in taking care of that house and if there is anything that I can do to assist you...”
“Thank you, I’m sure.”
“Ranma,” Principle Kelly stuck his hand out to the boy who hesitated before taking it. “It’s good to have a student of your caliber attending here. Have you ever considered playing sports?”
“I thank you for your time, Mr. Kelly.” Nodoka said briskly, gathering up the folder. “We really should be getting Ranma’s class schedule together.
“Yes, of course.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
“{Ugh, I’d really love to throttle that man.}” Nodoka said once they were out of the office. “{The sooner I am home, the sooner I can take long scalding hot bath. Let this a lesson to you, Ranma. That old saying about knowing your enemy is true. If you have enough information, you can defeat him without ever raising a fist. Understand?}”
“{Yeah.}” he said distractedly, “{Where did you get all that stuff anyway, Mom? I don’t remember any of those schools or seeing a doctor that could write in English. And when did you get a job?}”
“{Last night. It’s amazing what computers can do these days. I’m even getting paid by the state for living in my own foster home, so I didn’t lie.}”
“{Man, I hope nobody finds out about this. Besides, I thought you were rich.}”
“{I am, but that doesn’t mean I should spend it when I don’t have to. Take care; I’ll see you at home.}”
“{Yeah, bye, mom.}”
Ranma sighed as he headed to his first class. His mom’s past was even shadier than his pop’s. So where did that leave him and his honor? All during the time he was training, becoming an honorable martial artist had been his goal, but both of his parents seemed to have walked a dark path in their early life. The only thing he could remember was something an old master had told him when they discussed his father, “I study the art of war and killing so my sons can learn of math and science, so their sons can learn of culture and philosophy.” So, if his parents were both thieves and scoundrels, does that make him one too or should he honor their attempt at giving him a chance for something better. ...or did that just make them hypocrites? His pop wanted him to teach martial arts and produce an heir to carry on their art, or so he said. And his mom? It was ironic to him that even though she had a more shadowed past than his father, she cared about her son more than his father did, that was obvious. But, still, he wasn’t sure what she wanted. He’d have to ask when he got the chance.
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(Posted Mon, 06 Sep 2004 02:23)
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